Elma Fud Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 Can someone answer these questions: When do crows / rooks lay their eggs? Is it legal to destroy a rooks nest when it has eggs in it?When is the best time to shoot branchers? I have heard that if you disturb a roosting colony on a cold frosty night, you can destroy all the eggs in the nest. Has anyone tried this. If so was it successful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 As a general rule crows and rooks lay eggs in early April. This will obviously vary in different parts of the country. Shooting branchers usually takes place arround the 2nd week in may. Again This will not be consistent throughout Great Britain. If your desperate to get rid of rooks roost shooting from now on is ideal and then shoot the branchers in may as often as you can. Air rifles are very effective on the branchers. For roost shooting use your shotgun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quercus Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 I too have heard the one about disturbing a rookery on a cold night to chill the eggs, sounds like it could work. You would have to keep them off the nest for some time though to be sure of success as it is surprising how long an egg remains viable, especially in the later stages of incubation. If it works it would be better than actually destroying the eggs as there would be little chance of a second clutch being laid. I've never been able to test this in practice as our local rookery is in the middle of the village :what: As pest species rook and crow nests and eggs may legally be destroyed :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elma Fud Posted February 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 Quercus How long do you think it will take before the eggs will chill? A keeper friend, informed me that when collecting his pheasant eggs if he does not get the eggs into a incubator then the eggs will be useless. I thought would use bangers to do the job. However, this rookery is next to the main road and has two pubs nearby. I will have to speak to the landlords first to see if they have any objections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quercus Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Early in incubation an egg will fatally chill in a matter of five minutes or so. As incubation progresses the chick is able to generate its own body heat in the same way that an adult does and is less vulnerable to chilling. I would suggest that you try and keep the adults off the nest for at least an hour on a cold night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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